NYPD Officers Shoot and Kill Woman Driving Stolen Car in Brooklyn

June 15, 2012

Police officers shot and killed an unarmed woman driving a stolen car in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn last night, sparking tension in the neighborhood.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said the woman was shot in the chest by an officer who was trying to shift the gears into park while holding his firearm in one hand. She allegedly tried to drive backward as two officers tried to enter the vehicle.

Earlier, the woman, whose identity had not been released last night, ran several red lights before smashing into another car on East 38th Street and Church Avenue.

Police drew up alongside her car and approached the vehicle. The woman, 23, moved to the unoccupied passenger seat and opened the door. One officer tried to enter the vehicle there. He was hit by the door as she moved back to the driver’s seat and threw the car into reverse, and pushed the gas pedal.

Another officer at the same time entered the driver’s side of the vehicle with gun drawn. That was when his gun discharged.

She was declared dead at Kings County Hospital. No identification was found on her, and she had to be identified via fingerprint records.

The car that she was driving was reported stolen in a gunpoint carjacking on June 5 in Brooklyn.

The incident sparked a period of protests and anger in the neighborhood, but it had largely subsided by 11 p.m.